TNLY 1

Chapter 1

“Lady Reina. It’s time to wake up now.”

It’s been a week since I came here. My days begin like this.

“I didn’t become your dedicated maid to do this kind of work, you know.”

Together with Sylvia, who was assigned as my dedicated maid.

*’I’ve been awake for a while now.’*

But instead of speaking, I only squeezed my eyes shut tighter.

“…Is the lady still sleeping? Really… I suppose I have no choice but to wake you myself.”

Sylvia sighs and reaches her hand toward me. The hand that shook me grew rougher and rougher until finally, it began to pinch my arm.

A burning pain, like being scalded by fire, spread through me.

“Ah!”

In the end, I couldn’t bear the sharp pain and let out a groan of agony. Perhaps it was because the wound from being scratched by something sharp still hadn’t healed. It felt as though my entire arm had been slashed, but I comforted myself once more.

*’The only person who torments me here is Sylvia. I just need to endure this.’*

As my ragged breathing gradually steadied, Sylvia asked slowly.

“Are you feeling unwell somewhere?”

“…Of course not.”

“That’s a relief, my lady. Please get up quickly. Today is the first day you’ll be dining outside, after all.”

Was she feeling pleasure watching me, unable to say a single word?

*’When I first saw her, she was certainly just a child.’*

Unable to resist her urging, I rose, and a cold chill greeted me.

“I’m grateful you’re here. I’ll get ready and go out, so you go on ahead.”

“Really? Then I’ll go out first since the madam is calling for me.”

*Slam—*

Sylvia disappeared, behaving in a manner utterly unbefitting a maid until the very end.

“Well, what can I do.”

Since coming to this place, everything had to go through Sylvia. Tormenting me and surveilling me—both were her duties.

“Of course, I’m not afraid of you.”

If I had to name the object of my fear, it would be Idorein, not Sylvia. Idorein was the very person who had treated my wounds herself, to leave not a shred of suspicion.

Why would someone like her tolerate Sylvia’s behavior?

“It’s raining.”

I’d thought the day was dark—outside the window, rain was falling. Suddenly, the day I first met Idorein came to mind.

*— So you’re Reina?*

Less than a month after my mother’s funeral.

*— From today onward, forget the dead.*

*— You are being reborn. I will become the Countess.*

I was only ten years old then.

“Still, if I just endure one more week, I’ll be free. Just a little longer.”

One week from now would be the day of my half-sister Jennifer’s debutante ball.

And on that day, I planned to sell off the salon—the only inheritance left to me—and flee this place.

***

“Reina Wales.”

“Yes, Count.”

“You seem to be in poor health.”

It was something he’d known from the start. He couldn’t have thought Sylvia would wake me on time.

“I apologize. I suddenly wasn’t feeling well.”

I didn’t mention Sylvia’s name. Anything I said would sound like an excuse.

“Come closer.”

The Count, having heard my answer, beckoned with his hand. It was exactly like calling an animal.

*’Am I even above an animal?’*

My father, Count Nicholas Wales. I looked at the blond hair and brown eyes that matched my own.

But in his gaze toward me, there was no love to be seen. Feeling his contemptuous, disdainful stare, I slowly approached.

“I told you to be on time today because I had something important to discuss with you. And yet you… wasted our time.”

Was he angry? Along with a low grinding sound, I heard the sound of teeth clenching.

“Do not forget your position.”

Fortunately, the warning wasn’t long. Telling me not to forget my position must mean to remember that I live in the Count’s household.

“Yes, thank you.”

The meager food that appeared at every meal, the room furnished just enough to look presentable, the clothes that made me look like a noble young lady.

All of it was an illusion that would vanish once the debutante was over.

*Scrape—* The sound of a chair being pulled back. Everyone was holding their breath, watching my every move.

“Unnie! Actually, I called you because there’s something I wanted to discuss with you!”

It was Jennifer who broke the silence.

“…Something you wanted to discuss?”

Jennifer had never once asked for my opinion before. Unable to understand, I tilted my head.

“As you know, unnie, my debutante is coming up soon. Everyone’s expecting the gifts I’ll receive, and…”

Jennifer continued, her face flushed as if embarrassed.

“Right. It’s only natural for family to give gifts at a debutante.”

“Yes! You think so too, don’t you, unnie? Since you couldn’t have your debutante because you were sick, I wanted to show people that we’re close.”

Close? You and me?

I was struck with bewilderment. I, who was treated worse than a hired servant?

“The young lady is just so…”

Perhaps it was because of her characteristic friendliness—she was kind to maids and servants alike. Murmurs of admiration rose from those around us.

Only a select few within the Count’s household knew that I was being mistreated.

To the people here, Jennifer must seem like a lovely noble young lady.

I looked at Jennifer, who was smiling bashfully, and asked in a dry voice.

“If that were the case, it would have been better to tell me in advance. So what is it you wanted to discuss?”

“Um, I didn’t think you’d be late because you were sick, unnie. So we thought of a gift among ourselves first, and…”

They’d never intended to include me from the start. The Count, as if he’d erased from memory ever being angry at me, was smiling at Jennifer.

“I’m curious what gift I’m supposed to give.”

I had no assets I could liquidate at the moment. What gift could the family possibly want?

Perhaps reading my uneasy expression, my other half-sibling, Jess, began to cackle.

“Pfft, look at that face! Don’t tell me you really don’t know? What gift could you possibly have besides that one thing?”

“Jess. You’ve joined the Imperial Knights, haven’t you? How long are you going to keep talking so vulgarly?”

I frowned at their incomprehensible reactions.

Normally they wouldn’t have drawn things out this long. Even if they’d come up to the capital, this wasn’t the kind of thing short-tempered children would do.

*’Do they need justification?’*

I turned my gaze to Idorein, who was smiling silently.

The red hair draped over her shoulder swayed. She had been watching the entire situation, smiling ever so faintly.

“Stop fighting, everyone. Jess, you should apologize to your unnie too. And Reina.”

“Yes, Countess.”

“I told you to call me Mother. When you’re like this, those rumors can only become true.”

Perhaps I couldn’t hide my chilling expression. A few maids glanced at me nervously, but Idorein shamelessly laid out what she wanted.

“Among the things you possess, is there anything more valuable than the Feing Salon?”

The Feing Salon—my mother’s legacy to me, and the source of funds that would provide the foundation for my escape.

“Surely… you’re not serious?”

Idorein smiled and nodded. This time, I turned my gaze to the Count.

“The Feing Salon… as a gift… are you truly serious?”

I pressed for an answer once more.

“The Feing Salon has always been a headache for me. I waited until you came of age, but seeing as your health worsens by the day, I simply judged it best to pass it to Jennifer.”

Luna, the Feing Salon’s agent, was the Empire’s finest designer and a longtime friend of my mother.

She had protected the Feing Salon as my representative until I came of age—but I no longer had the right to that.

“I know.”

“…I’m glad you understand. Then do you also understand this? The rumors that we mistreat you. How is it that caring devotedly for a sick child constitutes abuse…?”

“I’m not sick. You know that.”

A hollow laugh burst out instinctively. That laughter ultimately cut off the Count’s words.

“…What is the meaning of this?”

Everyone began to gnaw away at me, bit by bit. My body trembled at the pettiness of trying to take even the last thing I had left.

“I don’t think the gift has to be the Feing Salon.”

“…Unnie. I understand how you feel. But unnie, you don’t have anything, do you?”

Jennifer cut in tactlessly. She asked with an innocent face.

“Oppa is giving me a mine. And since you don’t enter society, unnie, we’re the ones who have to deal with the bad rumors, so… if you just give it to us in front of everyone, we can all be happy again.”

I couldn’t bear to listen to Jennifer any longer and kicked back from the table, rising to my feet.

“Sit down, Reina.”

“I don’t want to!”

I shouted back. It was the first time I’d shown such a display since I was a child.

I heard the chair topple and a teacup shatter.

“How dare you—!”

*Smack—* Along with the sound, my head snapped to the side. It was the first time the Count had struck me since I was young.

Until now, he had only judged my sins as though he were some kind of god. Emotions may grow dull, but violence does not. I clutched my stinging cheek.

“There isn’t a single thing wrong with what Jennifer said. When adults make a judgment, you simply say you understand—why must you go out of your way to upset me?”

Everyone knew what the next words would be.

“I’ll root out that behavior here and now. Until you apologize for your wrongs, you will not leave your room.”

The Count, unable to contain his anger, issued his threat.

I shook off the hands of the maids who rushed at me and said,

“Don’t touch me. I’ll walk there on my own.”

In the end, I pushed myself into a trap that had been tightly woven.

“You should have just asked me to hand it over from the beginning.”

Because if I didn’t even do this, I felt like I would burst into tears I couldn’t hold back.